what does "that's what's coloring it"mean? what does "color"here mean?
“What did I miss?”
He lowered his hand to Barbie’s head when she leaned against him. “You said you had kids. You’re married.”
“That’s right.”
“How many times?”
She let out a laugh. “Just the one. It’s worked out pretty well.”
“That might be it. You haven’t gone through the dark side. Maybe I’m wrong and that’s what’s coloring it. But I don’t think so. The only way to be sure is to box him in. That’s what I’m going to do, here, on my turf. In my place.”
She let out a sigh. “I can help.”
“Yeah, I think you can.”
When he’d finished talking to her, he felt lighter somehow. “You know what?” he said to the dog. “I’m going to work for a couple hours, remind myself what my life’s supposed to be about. You can hang with me.”
He left the past, and what would come behind it, and went down to surround himself with the now.